We had called them and they arrived above all in the second part of the race animated by the Virtual Safety Car called into question by the hot Yuki Tsunoda. Lots of twists and turns Zandvoort which confirmed the turnaround seen in Spa, albeit with less overwhelming results. There Ferrari is in great trouble, the Red Bull proceeds quickly towards the World Cup and the Mercedes, slyly, he climbed up the standings dangerously facing the Maranello garage. An internal struggle between the adamant George Russell and the 7 times world champion Lewis Hamilton actually delivered the podium to Charles Leclerc, who hints at a shy smile waiting for a recovery of the Red that next weekend will arrive in the temple of speed: Monza. Between retreats, impossible strategies and breathless fights let's see how our drivers fared at Fanta F1, with the Tops and Flops of the weekend in Holland.
TOP
We begin our ranking with the three riders who made the most of Zandvoort.
Max Verstappen: If last weekend was a SPA Walk for Max, in Holland the music doesn't seem to have changed. He makes no effort to contain first the Ferrari at the start and then the Mercedes, reborn also thanks to a perfect combination of performance and strategy. The RB18 is the car that everyone would like to drive, but which can only be tamed by a lion like Max, a leader also recognized at Fanta F1. With this victory he reaches the number 30 in his career, and aims to do the en plein for the last 7 races.
George Russell: Irreverent, aggressive but lucid, he holds the reins of the team. In the finale under Safety, he asks him to make a pit stop which then allows him to eat Hamilton, even taking a big risk. If a team that boasts 8 world titles doesn't flinch at this request and entrusts itself to him, there will be a reason. This reason is most likely that the fabric of the champion Russell has it sewn on. His future has just begun and his average at Fanta F1 grows with him.
Fernando Alonso: The first to take a risk by trying the white ones that really didn't go in Hungary on the Alpine. But this time the music is different and Nando can have fun on the dance floor. He does an extraordinary race between tire management, overtaking and strategies and from P13 it closes in P6. Bring more points to the Alpine house which starts to fly away from McLaren.
FLOP
Unfortunately, like the top players, we also have to elect the flops from Zandvoort. Here are the three cataclysms of this Grand Prix.
Yuki Tsunoda: We don't know if dear Yuki was just a pawn in the great Red Bull game or if he simply got into the ballpark, but he deserves a nice tapir for one of the most absurd and irresponsible scenes ever seen. Convinced that he doesn't have the tires fixed well, he stops in the middle of the track and informs the team that he checks.
In the meantime, with the various teams panicking for that event that would have upset all the strategies, Yuki - waiting for the team's response - begins to undo the belt and then continue the tour without the appropriate protections when the team had informed him that the tires had been fixed correctly. In the pits they mummify him with the belts to prevent him from trying to escape again but once he gets out he decides that something is wrong with his AT03 and puts it back on the track, in the perfect position to call into question a Virtual, strategic for Max. Withdrawal from the race now it is inevitable. However, he deserved to have his license withdrawn.
Carlos Sainz: Probably the divinities this time preferred, a bit like the mosquitoes, the sweet blood of the Spaniard. Let's analyze Sainz's race, shall we? At the start, a contact with Hamilton risks ruining the bottom. At the pit stop, Ferrari – which we specify – had called him to the pits at the last corner – did not let him find the front left tyre, keeping him stationary for about 12 seconds. Ferrari has no pace with any of the compounds and with a disastrous pit stop the comeback becomes really difficult. He overtakes Ocon but does it at the wrong time, i.e. at the exact moment and point where the yellow flag comes out. He was almost not hit by Fernando Alonso in the pit lane due to an unsafe release which penalized him by 5 seconds. A trip to Lourdes?
Sebastian Vettel: Perhaps in wanting to be Mazepin for one day, Vettel allows himself a few seconds too long to be a spectator of the fight between Hamilton and Perez behind him. As a good ex-Red Bull man, as well as Lewis's rival, he doesn't budge, so much so that he gives the Mexican an attempt to attack Hamilton. Maybe it was just a way to ask for early retirement.
